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VOICE ONE:
I’m Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Phoebe Zimmermann with the VOA Special English program,People in America. Today, we tell the story of Sam Houston. He was acongressman, senator, governor, president of the Republic of Texasand a hero.
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VOICE ONE:
The United States was seventeen years old when Sam Houston wasborn in Virginia in seventeen-ninety-three. His father was a soldierduring the Revolutionary War. After the war, he served as an officerin the state military forces of Virginia. Sam’s mother took care ofthe family farm while her husband was busy with his duties.
Sam’s father died when the boy was fourteen years old. Sam’smother had to sell the farm to pay the money her husband owed. Sheand the children moved west to Tennessee.
VOICE TWO:
Life in Tennessee was not easy. Missus Houston and her childrenhad to build a house and clear trees off the land. Sam did not likesuch hard work. His mother and brothers decided that the boy was notmeant to be a farmer. They sent him to a store to work. Sam did notlike this job any better than farming. One morning, he failed to goto work. Sam was gone for weeks.
Then his mother heard that he was living with the CherokeeIndians. Sam’s brothers found him at an Indian village. Sam refusedto leave. He told his brothers that he loved the way the Indianslived.
The Cherokee chief, Oolooteka, accepted Sam as his son. Sam wasnineteen years old when he left the Indians to return to his ownpeople.
VOICE ONE:
The United States and Britain had begun fighting the War ofEighteen-Twelve and Sam Houston wanted to fight for his country. Heleft to join the forces of General Andrew Jackson.
Houston fought in a battle againsta group of Creek Indians who supported the British. He was woundedin the leg. Later in the fighting, General Jackson asked for someoneto lead an attack against the Indians. Houston jumped up and led theattack. He was hit by several bullets, and almost died.
It was a long time before Houston was well again. The war endedbefore he could return to action. After several years as a peacetimesoldier, the young officer received special orders from Washington,D.C. Some Cherokee chiefs had signed a treaty with the UnitedStates. The treaty said that all Cherokees must move west, to anarea across the Mississippi River.
VOICE TWO:
Oolooteka, with whom Houston had lived, was not one of the chiefswho signed the treaty. He could not understand why he should honorthe agreement. Houston’s job was to get Oolooteka to accept thetreaty. Houston did not want to do this. He believed it was wrong.However, he also knew it was a soldier’s duty to obey orders.
The Cherokees were glad to see Sam return. But they were sad whenthey learned why he had come. After much talk, Oolooteka finallyagreed to leave the land. Houston had done his duty, but he was notpleased. Because of this and other reasons, he left the army when hewas twenty-five years old.
VOICE ONE:
Sam Houston decided to become a lawyer. He went to Nashville, thecapital of Tennessee, to study law. Houston completed eighteenmonths of study in just six months. He surprised everyone by passingthe test required to become a lawyer.
He opened a law office in a town near Nashville. Former GeneralAndrew Jackson lived near the city, and Houston visited him often.They became close friends. Jackson was the political leader ofTennessee. He urged his young friend to enter politics. Houstonaccepted this invitation.
Jackson’s support meant much to a political candidate inTennessee. Houston was elected to the United States House ofRepresentatives. He served in Congress for four years.
Then, Andrew Jackson was elected president of the United Statesand Houston was elected governor of Tennessee. Houston had workedhard for Jackson. Many people believed that Houston would followJackson as president.
VOICE TWO:
But Houston had something else on his mind — a young woman. Shewas Eliza Allen, the daughter of a friend. They decided to marry.For several months, they seemed happy. Then, something happened.Eliza left Sam and returned home. Houston never explained the reasonfor the break between them. He said only that it was painful andprivate. Houston resigned as governor and left Tennessee.
VOICE ONE:
Sam Houston traveled to Arkansas, where the Cherokee Indians wereliving. Chief Oolooteka welcomed him warmly. Houston attempted toforget his sadness by working hard. But work did not make himforget. Houston drank too much alcohol, and was drunk for months.
Then he got a letter telling him his mother was sick. Houstonwent home. Before she died, Missus Houston told her son that she wassure of his strength and that he would succeed in life.
VOICE TWO:
Houston had received a letter from a group of New York Citybankers. They wanted him to go to the western area called Texas.Houston liked this idea. Many Americans had been moving to Texas forthe past few years. The area was then part of Mexico. However, theMexican government had opened the area to Americans who wished tolive there.Houston talked to the bankers, but got no immediatedecision from them. He went to Washington to see President Jackson.The President offered him a job. He asked his friend to go to Texasto negotiate peace with the Comanche Indians.
VOICE ONE:
Houston moved to Texas in eighteen-thirty-two. He met with theIndians. The talks were successful, and the Indians agreed to havepeace.
People told him that a spirit of rebellion was spreading acrossTexas. The Mexican government had made a number of laws that theTexans did not believe were fair. Houston went to San Felipe deAustin, the capital of a colony of Americans. Stephen Austin hadstarted the colony with Mexico’s permission and worked hard to makeit a success.
Austin feared that Houston had come to lead a struggle againstMexico. Austin did not believe that a war was necessary. He thoughtnew leaders would come to power in Mexico. He believed they wouldmake changes in the laws. Austin was partly right. The Mexicandictator, Anastasio Bustamante, was ousted. General Antonio Lopez deSanta Anna seized power.
VOICE TWO:
The Texans called a meeting to write a letter to Santa Anna. Theyasked him to change the cruel laws ordered by Bustamante. Austinagreed to carry the letter to the new Mexican leader. Months afterAustin left, the Texans learned that he had been arrested in MexicoCity and put in prison. They now felt that Santa Anna was no betterthan Bustamante.
Finally, the Mexican leader freed Austin and let him return toTexas. Austin now believed that peaceful methods would not help theTexans.
VOICE ONE:
The Texans held another meeting. There was a deep split among thedelegates. Many believed the only answer was complete independencefrom Mexico. Others believed Texas should fight for a democraticMexican government. After much debate, the delegates decided to tryto keep Texas a Mexican state. They quickly wrote a new stateconstitution and agreed to meet again. A temporary governor waselected. Sam Houston was chosen commander-in-chief of the TexasArmy.
There was little time to get an army ready. Santa Anna’s forcesalready were in Texas, in San Antonio. A group of Texas volunteersoldiers wanted to go to San Antonio to fight the Mexicans.
Houston opposed this idea. He believed the soldiers needed moretraining. However, the volunteer soldiers left for San Antonio.There was a violent five-day battle. The small Texas force won asurprise victory.
VOICE TWO:
Most Texans believed the war had been won. But Houston knew SantaAnna would not give up Texas so easily. Houston continued to buildan army.
Several Texas officers formed a small army and planned to attackMexico without Houston’s permission. He believed the planned attackon Mexico was wrong, so he resigned. But before he did, he orderedTexans in San Antonio to destroy the old Spanish fort called theAlamo. Houston did not think the Alamo could be defended against astrong Mexican attack. That will be our story next week.
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VOICE ONE:
This Special English program was written by George Grow andproduced by Lawan Davis. Our studio engineer was Sulaiman Tarawaley.I’m Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Phoebe Zimmermann. Join us again next week for anotherPeople in America program on the Voice of America.